For those whom are working around the Central Business District, the name Nyonya Next Door would probably be something that rings a bell — these folks had opened their doors at the foot of One Shenton for quite some time; they are situated in between the outlet of Supergreen there and another dining establishment named Doki Doki there. Despite being an establishment that is set up only with outdoor seating space for its dining area, it is interesting to note that Nyonya Next Door does allow for patrons to do dine-in and takeaways here. As the namesake suggests, Nyonya Next Door is an establishment that serves up Peranakan cuisine — the concept is one which appeals to individual diners where patrons would get to choose the elements in which they would like their orders to come with before choosing a base (i.e. rice options or with Signature Kerabu Vermicelli); there is also a flexibility to opt for add-on sides as well.

We found ourselves opting for the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set given how some of the other sets offered were already out-of-stock when we visited Nyonya Next Door during dinner service on a weekday evening. Nyonya Next Door does mention that all sets will come with elements such as Sambal Lava Egg, Ikan Bilis and Peanuts, Nyonya Achar, Sambal Original, Sambal Matah and Sambal Ijo — we did opt for our order of the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set to also come with the Nyonya Black Curry Rice which is a chargeable add-on of $1.40 above the base price of the Coconut Chicken Kapitan Set. The Nyonya Black Curry Rice is essentially the same as the White Rice which they also offer as a Base; the only difference being the rice having drenched with a black curry gravy over it. It does seem that the Black Curry does have a consistency similar to that of Japanese Curry, though there is a slight tang and umami-ness amidst the light hint of curry that might suggest the use of Buah Keluak there. The Coconut Chicken Kapitan itself features a boneless slab of chicken; itself having been stewed in what seems to be coconut milk with the chicken fillet being all tender and juicy — the flavours of the coconut milk also not being particularly heavy but still evident that keeps us going for more. An interesting feature here would be the inclusion of three (3) different types of sambals by default; the Sambal Original carrying a sweet note akin to that of the usual sambal that accompanies Nasi Lemak, while the Sambal Matah and Sambal Ijo gives a refreshing zing and a smokier and savoury note respectively. Whilst the Ikan Bilis did retain the crunch despite us making our orders near closing time, the Sambal Lava Egg was the element that had some room for improvement — egg yolks weren’t quite as molten as what we had expected.